Tone, Symbols, Point of View

Taming of the Shrew is a comedy filled with diverse characters and personalities. Shakespeare develops various tones throughout the play, some of which include sarcasm and playfulness. Overall, the play is of a comic nature, but it does take on a more serious disposition when such topics as hierarchical marriage are addressed. The play takes place in the third person, so various points of view are established throughout it. Shakespeare uses symbols such as Petruchio's wedding attire to add both a comic effect and an underlying meaning to the play. Petruchio's apparel is a symbol of the status he holds over Kate. He uses the costume to embarrass Kate, which is all part of the plan to tame her. Shakespeare also introduces the falcon as a symbol of Kate. In order to tame Kate, Petruchio trains her as if she were a falcon, depriving her of nutrition and sleep in order to make her submit to his wishes. Petruchio's authority over Kate is further developed with the symbol of the exquisite cap and gown that Kate loves and Petruchio denounces.

Concluding the Play

The last scene in Act 4 and the first scene in Act 5 provide for the beginning of the conclusion of the play. Petruchio keeps giving Kate a hard time in the carriage when he makes an incorrect statement, is corrected by Kate, gets upset with Kate for correcting him at which Kate agrees with him, and then gets upset with Kate for lying. The theme of appearance vs. reality in the play does not only apply only to the network of disguises that the play is comprised of, but also to the institution of marriage in the case of Kate and Petruchio. It seems as though the marriage is one of frustration, but all along, Kate and Petruchio are in the process of falling in love. This process culminates when the couple breaks away from the traditional confines of marriage when they kiss in the middle of the street. It is at this point that Kate has become tamed and Petruchio is finally fully satisfied with his wife.

Tranio's and Lucentio's plan is ruined when the real Vincentio shows up at Lucentio's house with Kate and Petruchio. Bianca and the real Lucentio eloped, and now the whole situation has to be explained. Later, Lucentio has a dinner for the three married couples: Petruchio and Kate, Hortensio and the Widow, and Lucentio and Bianca. This is an interesting dinner in that the men make a bet, all believing that their own wife is the most obedient. Situational irony exists in the fact that Kate is the only one who obeys her husband's call. This situation follows with Kate's lecture on how a woman should be submissive to her husband. Although times have changed and this sort of talk would be largely criticized in modern society, this hierarchical institution of marriage was believed in at the time.